AUTHOR BIO
Lela Ryterski
I was born in 1947 in Germany, at a DP camp, as a survivor of the holocaust. My family emigrated to the United States in 1949. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Brooklyn College in 1974 with a BA in art and education. I have taught as a substitute teacher in public schools in New York, Oregon and Alaska.
For two years, I was an executive secretary at The Asia Society in New York, which housed a gallery and promoted Asian art in the United States. That started my interest in things Asian. In between jobs I concentrated on developing my art which began with watercolor portraits and evolved to painting pet portraits in acrylic. I also do landscapes in oils. I have exhibited in several art galleries. I illustrated a coloring book and a children’s book, before illustrating my own book which became “A Samurai Meets a Buddha.”
I traveled cross-country by car three times visiting Soka Gakkai Buddhist centers as well as major sites throughout the U.S. I’ve also traveled to Europe, Israel, Mexico and Canada.
Since joining the Soka Gakkai in 1985, my personal life has improved greatly and I’m moved to share the empowering message and practice of Nichiren Buddhism. “A Samurai Meets a Buddha” is geared toward teenagers. I had mostly taught in Middle School and High School.
I have recently published “World Peace through Inner Happiness,” an in-depth look at the philosophy and development of Nichiren Buddhism through the Soka Gakkai.
I’m happy to say I have a very active social life in Homer, Alaska, where I live in a one room house with my dog, Jack, who gets me out walking on the beach. I also try to exercise regularly.
Author’s Other Works
Saved by the Light
Buddhist principles beautifully illustrated.
-Charles Mabbott
It is an intriguing story. It pulls you in and makes you want to read it.
-Simon Lopez, age 12
In Saved by the Light, Lela Ryterski tells the heart of Nichiren’s enlightenment story in a straightforward, engaging narrative.
-Kate Rich
Saved by the Light is a story about the samurai warrior, Shijo Kingo, and the Buddhist monk, Nichiren Daishonin. Nichiren is a rebel. Shijo Kingo is quick-tempered and, like most of us, has an inherent sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. He becomes Nichiren’s pupil and learns to chant a powerful invocation that can bring peace to the world. Because Nichiren refutes the main religions of his day and teaches the chant, he is almost killed and is exiled. However, the key to his victory lies in that very same chant. This is a true story of amazing events that saved Nichiren’s life.
There are now more than 12 million practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism worldwide as a world peace movement. It is the fastest growing sect of Buddhism in modern times.
